Born of the
family Felidae, also know as Felis catus, this little one was
birthed beneath a storage shed in a stranger’s back yard. Out of a
four-kitten litter, his coloring was the lightest. He was buttery gold
with neat tan stripes along his body, like a little blonde tiger, and his tail
ended with distinctive raccoon-like rings. Hence the ‘coon’, and the ‘oro’
is Spanish for gold.
He wasn’t much more than a handful when he came
to live in our home and was, of course, the immediate center of attention as the
only baby in the house. So, we fed him up with special baby cat food and
lots of loving attention, and he seemed to grow before our very eyes. We
still remember the first time he jumped down from the living room chair and
landed without bumping his nose on the floor. We also remember the first
time he clawed his way up the bedspread to take his first nap in the middle of
our bed as well as the first time he was gently removed from the bedroom!
But the very first time he ventured out the pet door on his own, a bigger cat
chased him right back inside! This one was the bully of the neighborhood
and outweighed our little fellow by at least ten pounds. He was
tiger-striped, too, but with the classic black and gray colors. He also
had a square-looking face and broad shoulders from scrapping with all the other
cats for whatever he wanted. A real toughie, he was. And he had
decided he wanted our backyard as his own.
After that first incident, it took several days of short, brave explorations
before Coon Oro reached the edge of the porch. We watched, every time,
through the window in the back door above the pet door. Sometimes he’d
look back over his shoulder to make sure we were watching him, too! It
took a few more days for him to venture out onto the grass. We think it
tickled his feet at first because he’d come hopping right back onto the porch.
But eventually he became acquainted with the other cats in the neighborhood.
All but one other stray belonged in houses right there around ours, all
properly cared for and all properly ‘altered’, with each neighbor being mindful
of pet population responsibilities. Coon Oro himself was taken care of as
soon as he matured enough to handle it physically.
All the other cats learned that they could get in through the pet door, too.
Our little fellow, being newest in the neighborhood, never tried to keep any of
them out. So we learned to block the pet door, at least overnight, and
then made sure to provide the covered litter box for inside overnights.
He finally braved it to the far end of the grass. Then he found the front
yard and a patch of dirt where he practiced dusting himself. He soon
learned to dart out of the front door whenever it was opened and then crouch out
there waiting until the door was almost closed, and if one of us put our head
out and called to him, ps-s-st, ps-s-st, he would run back inside as if being
chased.
But one afternoon no amount of calling brought the little guy running. We
looked around both yards and asked the neighbors if they had seen him. By
nightfall, we were well and truly worried. But what could we do?
Just wait. That was all. Cats wander, they explore, and they come
when they’re done. Don’t they? We hoped they did.
He came home the next day with a dirty face and hungry urgency. So we fed
him up with special moisr food mixed with his usual crunchy, then loved and
hugged him, cooed over his adventure, and let him know he was missed.
Now, these days, Coon Oro is content to play with the babies and children we
bring into our home, and sticks his nose out the door only when we hold it open
for him. And dances with me in the kitchen.
April Rogers
